The present invention relates to a firefighter coat, and more particularly to a firefighter coat wherein the sleeve wells or water wells disposed at the lower ends of the sleeves of the coat are disposed with the sleeves of the liner of the coat.
Firefighter coats include an outer shell designed primarily to resist burning or charring when exposed to flames along with a liner which fits within the outer shell and which is designed to serve as a moisture barrier and to provide thermal insulation. The outer shell has a pair of open ended sleeves, and the liner has a pair of open ended sleeves which fit within the sleeves of the shell. A sleeve well or water well is disposed at the lower end of the sleeves to prevent water from flowing into the sleeves especially when the arms of the firefighter are raised during firefighting activities.
Wristers are also provided at the lower ends of the sleeves and are adapted to receive the wrists of a firefighter and cooperate with the sleeve well to prevent water and other hazardous elements from entering the sleeves.
In some prior art constructions, it is possible that a gap can occur between the liner sleeve and the wrister, which is unacceptable since water or other elements can then enter the liner sleeves and come into contact with the arms of a firefighter.
The liner should be washed regularly and separate from the shell. Accordingly, means should be provided for selectively attaching or detaching the liner with respect to the shell.
It is desirable to provide a construction wherein the lower ends of the liner sleeves are disposed within one inch of the lower ends of the shell sleeves during firefighting operations, while retaining the thermal insulating and moisture proof characteristics of the coat. Accordingly, firefighter coats must be redesigned to enable the lower ends of the liner sleeves to be lower than in previous constructions while not diminishing the protection provided to the firefighter, including providing adequate sleeve wells at the lower ends of the sleeves.